Nim Chimpsky

Chimpanzees' Ability to Use Language in a Rudimentary Way Many researchers wonder if chimpanzees are really able to use language in a rudimentary way, or if it is just created by operant conditioning. Psychologists realized, as far back as 60 years ago, that chimps would never be able to learn spoken language. They do not have the specialized tongue, lips, teeth, facial muscles, and palate that humans do to make the vast array of speech sounds that humans do. Researchers have instead tried

People, myself included have been fascinated by animals for a very long time. One thing that has never been quite conclusively stated is whether or not animals have a language. Whether that be a language similar to ours or a language all to themselves that differs between species. As time has passed we have learned much about what works and what does not, but does that qualify as them using language as we define it today or something else entirely? There are multiple studies and experiments that

failed in most cases to differentially request food from the "knower." They point out that most evidence in support of great ape theory of mind involves naturalistic settings to which the apes may have already adapted through past learning. Nim Chimpsky,

The 2011 film Project Nim is about Nim Chimpsky, a chimpanzee in the 70s, and the attempt by professors studying animal language at Columbia University to teach a chimpanzee sign language by nurturing it like an actual human child. This project was lead by behavioral psychologist Herbert Terrace, who took influence from Project Washoe, a very similar experiment where they tried to teach a chimpanzee sign language, but Terrace wanted Project Nim to be a little more thorough and focus on the intellectual

There is no other natural type of communication quite like the system of human language. It consists of vocal sounds, written symbols, signs, and gestures. Human beings use these gestures, symbols, and metaphors for many different purposes such as expressing thoughts, providing information, giving instructions, and effectively negotiating amongst one another. Human language can express many things such as thoughts and feelings between two or more people and is the greatest necessity in human communications

irst arriving two hundred years ago, Homo sapiens have diverged from an earlier ancestral species, developing drastically distinct characteristics from other animals. As advancements in the field of evolutionary biology occur, the issue of whether or not humans and other animals are fundamentally different becomes more relevant. It is only appropriate in this context that “fundamentally” must be defined as a “relating to the basic character of something” (Macmillan Dictionary) because taxonomy organizes

Many would say chimpanzees are our long lost relatives. They have many traits that may mirror human beings and they are able to show signs of communication. Whether it be playing pranks on their handlers or simply telling them they are hungry, chimpanzees are highly intellectual creatures that are misunderstood. In “Next of Kin,” a book written by psychologist Roger Fouts, notices and appreciates this intellectual behavior shown from our hairy relatives. For centuries chimpanzees have been practicing

The first topic addressed in this book that I will focus on is the social behavior of apes, specifically on courting rituals and mating behavior, such as the love dance performed by the “humans” in the novel. The second topic is the (in)capability of apes to produce human speech. In the novel, the apes all speak human language, but in reality, this is not a likely possibility. To elaborate on the first topic, when the “humans” in the novel are taken to the research facility, Ulysse soon realizes

What Makes Us Human Being a human is a lot more complex than people believe it to be. Although we can be similar, we’re unique to any other mammals or animals in the world. Humans are a difficult species to understand. We’re constantly changing and creating or discovering new things, throughout our world. Being a human isn’t always easy; we get things thrown at us suddenly like sickness or death, things go wrong such as failing a test or going through a breakup, and the most challenging thing;